Fighting LTTE on Playstation

A French gaming company has launched a video game that depicts a trained a military squad fighting insurgents in the jungles of Sri Lanka.

While the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were not named, the company, Ubisoft's promos leave little doubt about who the rebels were modeled on.

Called the Ghost Recon Predator, the game will allow three players on game consoles to assume the role of the military to attack and subdue rebels in their own lair.

A company official was quoted on the official play station blog as saying: "you'll encounter the enemy on his own ground; he knows the terrain better, has more allies, and knows where to hide and where to attack." The description of the "enemy" partly sounds like that of a Tamil Tiger, especially about his knowledge of the terrain and the ability to carry out surprise attacks.

But what could lead to protests from the remaining pro-LTTE diaspora groups is that the game's preview says the virtual rebels used civilians as human shields. The insurgents think, "...nothing of hiding among innocent civilians, of using people as a shield for their illegal and immoral campaign". Sri Lanka has led a sustained campaign that the LTTE had used displaced Tamil civilians as a human shield and shot at those who tried to escape to the government side.

The preview also says "not all civilians are innocent" and the rebels are "fighting" for their "future...our children."